Apa Sherpa, SAARC Goodwill
Ambassador for Climate Change carried the Nepal Tourism Year 2011 Campaign
flag and WWF banner with the slogan “YOU HEARD OUR VOICE, NOW RAISE YOURS –
WE CAN STOP CLIMATE CHANGE IN THE HIMALAYAS” to the summit of Mt. Everest to
draw international attention for Nepal Tourism Year 2011 Campaign and
Global Warming and Climate Change. Eco Everest Expedition 2010 is led by
two time Everest summiteers, Dawa Steven Sherpa, a passionate advocate of
climate change issues. Dawa Steven is the Managing Director of Asian
Trekking (P) Ltd. and also a WWF Climate for Life Ambassador.

The Eco Everest Expedition
is organized by Asian Trekking and focuses on climbing in an eco-sensitive
manner and field testing different eco-sensitive methods to be adopted while
climbing in the Himalaya. This year, the expedition brought down to base
camp nearly 5000 kilos of old garbage. The expedition has also brought down
all the human waste produced by the expedition’s climbers and Sherpa. The
expedition advocated for other expeditions to follow suit. In this effort,
the Eco Everest Expedition also supplied other expeditions on Mt. Everest
with Restop Bags (toilet bags).

In 2008, Eco Everest
Expedition team brought down 965 kilos of garbage, including 75 kilos of
human waste from above base camp. Similarly in 2009 Eco Everest Expedition
brought down 6000 kilos of garbage under the “Cash for Trash” program which
included 115 kilos of human waste produced during the expedition. The same
year wreckage of an Italian Army helicopter was also recovered from the edge
of the Khumbu Icefall (5486m). The helicopter had crashed between Camp I and
Camp II (approx. 6200m) on Mt. Everest during the Italian Everest Expedition
in 1973. This probably demonstrates the movement of the Khumbu
Icefall(5450m) 1.3 kilometer over the past 37 years. The Eco Everest
Expedition team brought down 700 kilos of wreckage of the helicopter. Since
2008 until today Eco Everest Expedition brought down more than 12,000 kilos
of previous expedition garbage and more than 300 kilos of human waste
produced by Eco Everest Expedition from Mt. Everest for proper disposal. The
main sponsored of the garbage collection for 2008 and 2009 by Asian Trekking
and 2010 by Asian Trekking, Reinhold Messner, The North Face and The Alpine
Conservation.

Having suffered personal
loss of home and property during the Dig Tsho Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF)
on 3 August 1985, a direct result of the melting of himalayan glaciers, he
has been active in raising awareness about the impacts of climate change on
the fragile mountain environment and the mountain communities.

The annual program of "Beat
the GLOF Action Run and Save the Himalaya – Khumbu Festival" is going to be
held on 4 June 2010 in the Khumbu of the Mt. Everest region. The event will
be organized by iDEAS; a NGO formed by Dawa Steven Sherpa and Sherwi Yondhen
Tshokpa; a network of Sherpa students. Hundreds of local, national and
international runners will starts the Action Run from Khumjung and the run
route will follow as closely as possible the path of a GLOF of potentially
very dangerous Glacial Lakes such as Imja Lake, Ngozumpa Lake Or Dig Tsho is
to burst its banks. On the same day Save the Himalayas-Khumbu Festival will
be held in Khumjung village with the support of various organizations. Youth
groups from the Khumbu are competing in the traditional song/dance
competition. The purpose of the festival is to promote and preserve the
mountain culture and tradition. The event is sponsored by North Face, Asian
Trekking, Nepal Mountaineering Association, Himalayan Eco Resort-Phakding &
Khumjung, Agni Air, Camp De Base Namche, Paradise Lodge-Lukla and Lavilla
Sherpani-Lukla.

Kind regards,

Ang Tshering Sherpa

Chairman,

Asian Trekking (P) Ltd

ECO EVEREST EXPEDITION 2010
“MEET THE PRESS”

A press conference to address
Apa Sherpa’s 20th
summit on Mt. Everest as the Climbing Leader of Eco Everest Expedition 2010
was held at Nepal Tourism Board, Bhrikutimandap,
Kathmandu on April 1, 2010 in the presence of Honorable Minister for Tourism
and Civil Aviation Mr. SaratSinghaBhandari.

Mr. Prachanda Man
Shrestha; CEO of Nepal Tourism Board welcomed
and highlighted on the program by briefing the achievements and contribution
of Mr. ApaSherpa and Dawa
Steven Sherpa. He also wished for the success of
Eco Everest Expedition 2010.

At the function Minister
Bhandari handed over the Nepal Tourism Year 2011 Flag to Mr.
ApaSherpa which he will carry to the summit of Mt.
Everest during his record climb. He also presented Mr.
Dawa Steven Sherpa the “International
Olympic Committee Award for Sports and Environment.” The International
Olympic Committee honoured Mr.
Sherpa with this award for his contributions and
efforts in the field of sports and environment. In his speech Minister
Bhandari remarked and appreciated the attempt of
Mr. ApaSherpa and Mr. Dawa
Steven Sherpa to give the message of Nepal
Tourism Year 2011 from world’s highest peak (Mt. Everest). He also praised
their exemplary work on Eco Everest Expedition and wished for the grand
success of the expedition.

On
behalf of The Himalayan Trust and Sherpa Community, Mr. Ang Rita Sherpa,
Chairman of Himalayan Trust, Nepal, handed over ashes of Late Sir Edmund
Hillary / a memento of Gautam Buddha to Mr. Apa Sherpa to be placed on the
summit of Mt. Everest. He stated that it was the wish of Late Sir Edmund
Hillary that his ashes be scattered only in two places; in the sea near his
Auckland home, and in the mountains of Nepal where he tirelessly toiled and
made huge personal sacrifices to uplift the lives of the mountain people. He
further stated that it would be a tribute to such a great person if we could
fulfill his wish and also prayed that may his soul rest in peace.

During the program Mr. Dawa Steven Sherpa highlighted on plans and
purposes of Eco Everest Expedition 2010 which is making its way towards
initiation under his leadership, Apa Sherpa (World Record holder for 19
ascents of Mt. Everest) as the climbing leader and Nanga Dorje Sherpa as
Sirdar. With the motive of cleaning Mt. Everest and Khumbu region, he made
an attempt 2 years before through Eco Everest Expedition 2008 and has been
continuing this initiative to create awareness among the local people and
among the climbers to help keep Mt. Everest and the Khumbu clean. As in
previous years, the expedition team plans to collect and bring down garbage
from high altitudes. The team targets to bring down 6000 kilos of garbage
from Camp 2 and below under the “Cash for Trash” program and 1000 kilos of
garbage from above Camp 2 under the ”Cleaning up Everest” program. The
expedition will be using the highly successful alternative energy solutions
like the parabolic solar cookers and the SteriPENs for water purification.
The Expedition Team is scheduled to fly for Lukla on 6th April.

He also thanked Rheinhold Messner (Messner Mountain Museum), The North
Face and The Alpine Convention for sponsoring and WWF for endorsing the
expedition and helping in keeping Mt. Everest and Khumbu clean. Besides that
Mr. Apa Sherpa also seemed proud and pleased to climb Mt. Everest for the
20th time and setting a new world record.

Earlier: Dear EverestNews.com

Namaste and warm greetings from Nepal.

I am delighted to inform you that
finally the Spring Expedition Season starting soon and I am pleased to share
with you many interesting and positive news from Nepal.

Apa Sherpa, World Record Holder for 19
ascents of Mt.Everest and Climbing Leader of Eco Everest Expedition is
heading for 20th Summit on Mt.Everest this Spring and Asian Trekking family
extends their all support and wishes for the success.

Eco Everest Expedition: Once again this
year Asian Trekking is organising the Eco Everest Expedition (2010). Under
the leadership of Dawa Steven Sherpa, Apa Sherpa (19 times Everest Summiteer:
world record holder) as the Climbing Leader and Nanga Dorje Sherpa as
Sirdar. The focus will be on climbing in an eco-sensitive manner, bringing
old garbage, and all human waste produced on the mountain down to base camp
for proper disposal. The expedition will once again be using the highly
successful alternative energy solutions like the parabolic solar cookers and
the SteriPENs for water purification. This year Dawa Steven and his Eco
Everest Expedition team has planned to focus to collect and bring down
previous expedition garbage between the altitudes of 6500 m and above. A
team of 10 high altitude Sherpas will be hired to clean up garbage and
debris from such high altitudes. Eco Everest Expedition 2009 team had
brought down nearly 6000 kilos of previous expedition garbage from Mt.
Everest under the Cash for Trash program. This year's Eco Everest Expedition
targets to bring down 1000 kgs of debris from high altitude above Camp 2
(6500m) and 6000 kgs of debris from Camp 2 and below.

Since the Spring Season is approaching
very closed, The following are the expedition Teams Confirmed up to today
through Asian Trekking:

1. Eco Everest Expedition

2. Kazakh Lhotse Expedition

3. International Everest Expedition 1

4. International Everest Expedition 2

5. International Cho-oyu Expedition

6. International Shishapangma
Expedition

7. Chilean Amadablam Expedition

8. Korean Himlung Expedition

9. German Cho-oyu Expedition

Beat the GLOF Event and Save the
Himalaya Khumbu Festival will be held at Khumjung village on 4 June 2010
instead of 10 - 11 June. The date for this event has been postponed for the
convenience of the guests of 3rd International Sagarmatha (Mt.Everest) Day
Celebration, which will be held on 29 May 2010, to participate in Beat the
GLOF Event and Save the Himalaya Khumbu Festival. The event will be
celebrated with various programs which focus on the mountain communities,
the mountain environment and the impacts of climate change on them. The
event will be supported by Idea,Nepal Tourism Board, Sagarmatha National
Park, and many non government organizations.

2nd New International Airport in Nepal:
Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation held a ceremony on March 7, 2010
where an agreement was signed between The Government of Nepal, Ministry of
Tourism and Civil Aviation, and Land Mark Worldwide Co. Ltd., Korea. The
agreement was on the detailed feasibility study of the second international
airport at Dhumberwana, Nijgadh; a town situated in Bara District, 84
kilometers south-east from Kathmandu. The feasibility study will have to be
completed within 10 months from the date of agreement signed.

Nepal Tourism Year 2011 was officially
launched on February 26, 2010 and preparations have already begun which is
sure to make way for improvements in Nepal’s Tourism. All the political
parties of Nepal including the Unified Maoist Communist Party of Nepal
(Maoist) have signed an agreement committing not to call any bandhs or any
such strikes that affect the tourists during the period of Nepal Tourism
Year.

Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA),TAAN
and EOAN have appealed and suggested to The Government of Nepal to help
solve many problems prevailing in the Nepalese mountain tourism. Among the
many requests made following are the main ones.

A) Since 16 July 2008, the Government
of Nepal waived off royalty of the opened peaks in the Midwestern and
Farwestern Nepal for five years (till 16 June 2013) which shows good sign of
positive developments in these region. Similarly it was requested to reduce
the royalty fee of the peaks which is less crowded specially on the border
of Nepal. It has been requested to The Government of Nepal to manage free
permit to climb Mt. Cho-yu for five years from Nepal side.

B) The Tourism Council in the
Chairmanship of The Right Honourable Prime Minister had a meeting where the
necessity of operating mountaineering activities through one door policy was
accredited. The meeting was decisive in implementing this policy in order to
create a favourable environment for the climbers.

C) All associations has requested for
permission to make the peaks up to 5999m high permit free and also to
handover the management of peaks that are between 6000 to 6700 m to Nepal
Mountaineering Association.

D) It has been suggested to The
Government of Nepal to reduce the fees of communication equipments such as
walkie-talkies, satellite telephone, radios, video cameras, documentary
filming, mountain filming etc. and equipments used by climbing expeditions.

E) 3rd International
Sagarmatha(Mt.Everest) Day Celebration will be held on 29 May 2010 with
various programs. We expect more than 250 Mt.Everest summiteers, including
renowned climbers like Chris Bonington, Peter Habelar, Apa Sherpa, Min
Bahadur Serchan, Dawa Steven Sherpa, Bill Burke, David Liano, to attend the
program. To honour the Mt. Everest summiteers a request letter has been sent
to The Government of Nepal asking to provide them free visas every time they
visit Nepal. The summiteers will be regarded as the Goodwill Ambassadors of
Nepal to promote Nepalese mountain tourism.

F) Mt. Dhaulagiri Golden Jubilee will
be celebrated on May 13, 2010 in Pokhara. Noted climbers like Kurt
Diemberger (first summiteer of Mt. Dhaulagiri), and Reinhold Messner are the
Guests of Honour and many other renowned climbers will be present to
celebrate Mt. Dhaulagiri Golden Jubilee. On this occasion, it is requested
that there should be a 50% concession on royalty for all the climbers of Mt.
Dhaulagiri. Likewise the Summiteers of Mt Dhaulagiri should be provided free
visas from 2010 to 2011.

Finally I would like to express my
sincere thanks and gratitude to the Prime Minister and The Government of
Nepal for nominating me as the member of National Tourism Council and my son
Dawa Steven Sherpa as the member of Climate Change Council to the Prime
Minister.

I am also thankful to the International
Olympic Committee and Mr. Jacques Rogge, president of The International
Olympic Committee for presenting Dawa Steven Sherpa the “International
Olympic Committee Award for Sports and Environment.”

With kind regards,

Ang Tshering Sherpa

Everest from the South Side
in Nepal

Base Camp - 17,500 feet (5350
meters)

This is a
picture of the popular South Col Route up Mt. Everest. Base camp is located
at 17,500 feet. This is where climbers begin their true trip up the
mountain. This is also where support staff often remain to monitor the
expeditions and provide medical assistance when necessary. Many organizations
offer hiking trips which just go to base camp as the trip is not technically
challenging (though you must be very fit).

From base
camp, climbers typically train and acclimate (permitting the body to adjust to
the decreased oxygen in the air) by traveling and bringing supplies back and
forth through the often treacherous Khumbu Icefall. This training and
recuperation continues throughout the climb, with the final summit push often
being the only time to climbers do not go back and forth between camps to
train, bring supplies, and recuperate for the next push.

The Icefall
is in constant motion. It contains enormous ice seracs, often larger than
houses, which dangle precariously over the climbers heads, threatening to fall
at any moment without warning, as the climbers cross endless crevasses and
listen to continuous ice creaking below. This often acts as a testing ground
to judge if less experienced climbers will be capable of continuing. The
Icefall is located between 17,500 and 19,500 feet.

Camp I -
5900 meters

After the
Icefall, the climbers arrive at Camp I, which is located at 19,500 feet.
Depending on the type of expedition, Camp I will either be stocked by the
climbers as they ascend and descend the Icefall, or by Sherpas in advance.

The area
between Camp I and Camp II is known as the Western Cwm. As the climbers reach
Camp II at 21,000 feet, they may be temporarily out of sight of their support
at Base camp. Nonetheless, modern communication devises permit the parties to
stay in contact.

Camp II -
6500 meters

As the
climbers leave Camp II, they travel towards the Lhotse face (Lhotse is a
27,920 foot mountain bordering Everest). The Lhotse face is a steep, shiny
icy wall. Though not technically extremely difficult, one misstep or slip
could mean a climber's life. Indeed, many climbers have lost their lives
through such mishaps.

Camp III -
23,700 feet (7200 meters)

To reach Camp
III, climbers must negotiate the Lhotse Face. Climbing a sheer wall of ice
demands skill, strength and stamina. It is so steep and treacherous that many
Sherpas move directly from Camp II to Camp IV on the South Col, refusing to
stay on the Lhotse Face.

Camp IV -
26,300 feet (8000 meters)

As you’re leaving C4…it’s a
little bit of a down slope, with the uphill side to the left. There are
typically snow on the ledges to walk down on, interspersed with rock, along
with some fixed rope. The problem with the rope is that the anchors are bad,
and there’s not much holding the rope and a fall could be serious. Fortunately
it’s not too steep, but there is a ton of exposure and people are usually
tired when walking down from camp. The rock is a little down sloping to the
right as well, and with crampons on, it can be bit tricky with any kind of
wind. There’s a little short slope on reliable snow which leads to the top of
the Geneva Spur, and the wind pressure gradient across the spur can increase
there as you’re getting set up for the rappel. Wearing an oxygen mask here can
create some footing issues during the rappel, because it’s impossible to see
over the mask and down to the feet. For that reason, some people choose to
leave Camp 4 without gas, as it’s easier to keep moving down the Spur when
it’s important to see all the small rock steps and where the old feet are
going. Navigating down through all of the spaghetti of fixed ropes is a bit of
a challenge, especially with mush for brains at that point. One lands on some
lower ledges which aren’t so steep, where fixed ropes through here are solid.
At this point, it’s just a matter of staying upright, and usually, the wind
has died significantly after dropping off the Spur. The route turns hard to
the left onto the snowfield that leads to the top of the Yellow Bands.

Camp IV,
which is at 26,300 on the Lhotse face, is typically the climbers' first
overnight stay in the Death Zone. The Death Zone is above 26,000 feet.
Though there is nothing magical about that altitude, it is at this altitude
that most human bodies lose all ability to acclimate. Accordingly, the body
slowly begins to deteriorate and die - thus, the name "Death Zone." The
longer a climber stays at this altitude, the more likely illness (HACE - high
altitude cerebral edema - or HAPE - high altitude pulmonary edema) or death
will occur. Most climbers will use oxygen to climb and sleep at this altitude
and above. Generally, Sherpas refuse to sleep on the Lhotse face and will
travel to either Camp II or Camp IV.

Camp IV is
located at 26,300 feet. This is the final major camp for the summit push. It
is at this point that the climbers make their final preparations. It is also
a haven for worn-out climbers on their exhausting descent from summit attempts
(both successful and not). Sherpas or other climbers will often wait here
with supplies and hot tea for returning climbers.

From Camp IV,
climbers will push through the Balcony, at 27,500 feet, to the Hillary Step at
28,800 feet. The Hillary Step, an over 70 foot rock step, is named after Sir.
Edmond Hillary, who in 1953, along with Tenzing Norgay, became the first
people to summit Everest. The Hillary Step, which is climbed with fixed
ropes, often becomes a bottleneck as only one climber can climb at a time.
Though the Hillary Step would not be difficult at sea level for experienced
climbers, at Everest's altitude, it is considered the most technically
challenging aspect of the climb.

Summit -
29,028 feet (8848 meters)

Once the
climbers ascend the Hillary Step, they slowly and laboriously proceed to the
summit at 29,028 feet. The summit sits at the top of the world. Though not
the closest place to the sun due to the earth's curve, it is the highest peak
on earth. Due to the decreased air pressure, the summit contains less than
one third the oxygen as at sea level. If dropped off on the summit directly
from sea level (impossible in reality), a person would die within minutes.
Typically, climbers achieving the great summit will take pictures, gain their
composure, briefly enjoy the view, then return to Camp IV as quickly as
possible. The risk of staying at the summit and the exhaustion from
achieving the summit is too great to permit climbers to fully enjoy the great
accomplishment at that moment.

As most
readers of this page know, the return trip can be even more dangerous than the
climb to the summit.